Prolapse occurs when the pelvic organs - the bowel, bladder or uterus, come down or bulge into or out of the vagina.
This often occurs when the tissue which support the pelvic organs - often the walls of the vagina - weaken.
This can be caused by the damage of the ligaments which support the organs and can often arise from pregnancy or childbirth.
Reasons for prolapse can also include too much pressure on the pelvic floor muscle, such has obesity, coughing or heavy lifting. Experts also add constipation can also cause prolapse.
What are the symptoms of prolapse?
Symptoms can include backache, heaviness or a dragging discomfort inside the vagina. The symptoms are often worse if you have been standing (or sitting) for a long time or at the end of the day. Symptoms can improve after sitting down.
Experts warn people might be able to feel a lump or a bulge and are urged to see their doctor.
If the bladder has prolapsed into the vagina, the sufferer may experience the need to pass urine more frequently or feel like their bladder is not emptying properly.
People also leak urine when coughing, laughing or lifting heavy object or experience urinary tract infections or experience discomfort during sex.
On average, this happens about 12 years after the first operation. But now experts have revealed certain types of surgery have caused serious complications for some patients.
Two controversial methods of surgical repair of prolapse in women have been found to be no more effective than the existing standard repair technique, up to two years after surgery.
Widespread concerns about the use of mesh and graft in prolapse surgery have been raised in public, with some patients reporting serious complications.
Research
Researchers at the University of Aberdeen have led a project comparing the outcome of pelvic organ prolapse repairs reinforced by either non-absorbable synthetic mesh or biological grafts against standard native tissue repairs in around 1,300 women.
Women participating in the study used a questionnaire to record their prolapse symptoms.
Result of the survey found the mesh, which is inserted through the vagina, resulted in a number of complications but did not offer any clear benefits.
Experts concluded the mesh could be considered an ‘unnecessary risk’, until further research was conducted. The results of the study have been published in the medical journal The Lancet.
Results
Professor Cathryn Glazener, who led the study said: “This study showed in the first two years after surgery, there was no benefit to women having their first prolapse repair from the use of transvaginal synthetic mesh or biological graft to reinforce a standard anterior or posterior repair, either in terms of prolapse symptoms or in short term anatomical cure.
“This contrasts with the conclusions of the most recent Cochrane review which reported that fewer women were aware of prolapse symptoms with synthetic mesh and fewer had anatomical recurrence, compared with women who did not have mesh.”
Professor Glazener said long-term follow up is needed to fully assess potential benefits or effects of the controversial surgeries.
“Because mesh did result in a number of complications, with no clear benefits, we conclude its use for these procedures could be considered an unnecessary risk,” she said.
“Therefore we consider that mesh should only be used in the future in high quality clinical trials aimed at improving the results of vaginal prolapse surgery.”
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